Locomotive stoker



March 22, 19-32- N. M. LOWER ET AL ,8

LOCOMCTIVE STOKER Filed July 18, 1921' 2 Sheets-Sheet l F f/We/wcms" March 22, 1932; N, LOWER ET AL 1,850,844

LOCOMOTI VE STOKER Filed July 18, 192 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ljo falocomotive boiler.

therewith; and, I r

p come in the presentinvention I Patented Mar; 22,51932? NATHAN 1M: LOWERAND EDWIN ARCHER TURNER; or :errrsnuiwrr, PENNSYLVANIA,

ssrenons, BY ivrnsiili assremvrnnrs, 530:. THE STANDARD j sroxnn ooM-rAN-Y LING,

- OFiNEW YQ KpN. YQA Q DELAWARE LOGOMOTIVE STOKERV Application; filefii J ly Theinvention has special reference. the

improvement in means 1 for stokinglocomo-M tives, its object being tolsimplify and increase the durability andefiiciency otthe stoker and A preferred ernbodiine nt of the invention is; hereinafter described and; is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhichi a Fig. 1 is a detail centrahvertical, longitudi nalisection of a locomotive and its tenderand Y of the stoking mechanism p 1 p t Fig. 2 is a; detail elevation of, the inner face of the back head of the locomotive fire-r box and of the stoking mechanismassociated Fig. 3- is a detail'pllnview'ofthe stoking mechanism and of the 'loconiotive an d tender, some parts beingsho'wn" in'section. I i In locomotives. inwhich the fuel is intro- 21} duced' through anelevator, located within the fire-box. there has been aloss "ofefliciency because the stokingv mechanismveryinaterially reduced the grate area, and consequently the amount of, fuel that could be burned, and because a substantial area'of thebackhead "was out 01f from the heat,-thereby reducing thesteaming capacity of the boiler, ithas been impracticable to protectlthe elevator from the intense heat, and it would not only bejquicklyburned outQbut was liable to be 1 distorted by Warping and rendered inopera tive 'Thefse and other serious objectionsto this, type of stokingfdevice are subjstantia'llyover- The fire-box ofthe locomotive is indicated at 10, the backhead, which, as usuah, is hollow, is shown. at 1l;"the'ius'u alhandfiring opening is markedl2; andgal; portion of'the' grate is shown at 13. The cab deck or fioor is indicated, at .1 he fl or of i he en er t 15;; the fuel, bin ati'l6, and the usualcoal s gate at 17.. The; locomotivend; ead r re;

cQupledjtogether i as: usual,- 1, asshown at. l8:

V a aperture isvr rnedgi n;.the"barkhe di 1 i 1927. Serial No. 206,702; 1 a

near its lower marginbutislightly above the mud ring 19. Within this aperture; there, is. fitted a sleeve 20, nalfingwater-tight joints with the inner and outerwalls of the back i head. Througl' this sleeveffuel is admitted;

into the fire-box, being delivered thereto by housed within a jointed conduit-22 extending forwardly from below the floor 15' of the tend er and receiving fuel through suitable openings inthe floor 15,as is 'usual/ V p A tubular ball and socket unit comprising the elements 23, 24:,is rigidly attached to-the backh'ead in registry with the sleeve 20," the eleinent 23 being laterally flanged to fit against the ba ckhe ad, and being secured thereto by any suitable means, The element 24 of this 'unittakes the form of a sleeve;2,5f'

vator' conduit 26, closeril at its-bottom; andi having; a lateral aperture inv register with the sleeve 20, The conduit 26 is firmly se- 7 cured to the backhead by means of attacl'iing H lugs, such as 27, 28, shownin F igsi 1 and 2,1 a I andwhichmay be as numerousa nd may be disposed as may be found advantageous; The elevator conduitinay, therefore, be placed close togth backheadgand parallel, or

approximately so,withj thefinneriaee there of. Thelengthof this conduit maybe va' o ried. Usually as showinits per end. is

approxiinately'in line with the botton oi the hand-firing opening 12, thus bringing the iuel'to a point of ele vation substantially abov the grate surf-ace, while no; interiorence with? handfi'ringg oceursl Preferably,

by collar 29'infthe forihlofa plate-which theupperend lofthe conduit issurrounded may be fitted upon or formed integral with the conduit 26 and forms a table giving direction to the fuel as it is projected into the fire-box by steam jets discharged from nozzle 30, located at the rearward side of the conduit- Suitable steam pipes leading to the nozzle 30 may be arranged in any preferred manner.

An elevating screw 31 is mounted within the conduit '26, its shaft having a bearing upon the bottom wall thereof. This shaft, or an attachable extension thereof, projects through the bottom wall of the conduit, as shown at 32, and carries a bevel gear 33, which meshes with a bevel gear 34 carried by a shaft 35 journaled in a gear casing 36 secured to the bottom end of the conduit26. The shaft 35 is connected, by means of a universal joint 37, with a telescopically exteni sible drive shaft 38. s

The' fuel moving screws are driven by means of any suitable motor, such as the one conventionally shown at 39, and which actuates a worm wheel within the casing 40 to the shaft of which the shaft 38. is attached, as'is also a shaft 41, connected, as is usual, with the rear end of the shaft of the. screw; 21. Preferably the motor is located on the tender, as shown, though where there is available, space on the locomotive it may be mounted thereon, ifdesired.

In order that the elevator conduit 26 may be. protected from the intense heat of the furnace, as well as to secure other advantages,

' the conduit is enclosed within a U-shaped water jacket 42, which is connected with the chamber of the backhead 11 at its lower and upper ends, as indicated at 43, 44, and 45, 46, respectively. This water jacket may take any preferred form, but is shown as consisting of a lower header 49 and an upper header 47, and a plurality of tubes, as 48, connecting the two headers. The water within the tubes 48 will be rapidly heated and the circulation through the water jacket will be rapid. Not only will the elevator conduit be effectuall protected by the absorption of the heat the water, but the steaming capacity of the boiler will be materially increased. I

Thestoking device, as described, is of high efficiency- The fuel is delivered into the firebox from the tender with the expenditure of little power, except whenthere is present a considerable percentage of large lumps which must be reduced; it is elevated toa oint sufficiently abovethe level of the fire d to insureeven d stribution over thefentire grate area, and to prevent, in great measure, the formation of 'clinkers which are apt to result from .an effort to scatter the fuel by steam jets from a point-but slightly above the bed of burning fuel. The hand-firing opening is not obstructed, making it easy to trim the fire by hand when necessary, and

tected from the heat as to require but little attention of this kind.

The water jacket is not only of such a character that it occupies but little space, but it is of high efliciency both as a protection to the stoker parts, and as an adjunct to the boiler. I I v While the stoker as described is of ahighly desirable form, nevertheless, various structuralchanges are possible within the scope of the invention.

We claim as ourinvention:

1. In combination, a locomotive having a fire-box and a hollow backhead, the backhead having a fuel admission aperture near its bottom, a tubular ball and socket unit, oneelement of which is secured to'the outer face of the backhead and surrounds the aperture therein, and a fuel transfer conduit in sliding connection with the other element of the unit.

2.1a combination, a locomotive having a fire-box and a hollow backhead, the backhead having a fuel admission aperture near its bottom, ajtubular ball and socket unit, one element of which is secured to the outer face of the backhead and surrounds the aperture therein, a fuel transfer conduit in sliding connection with the other element of the unit, and an elevating conduit within the fire-box, receiving from the aperture and extending upwardly approximately parallel with and secured to the backhead.

v 3. In, combination, a locomotive having a firebox and a backhead provided with a fuel opening therein, said backhead being also provided with an a rture below the level of said opening for t e admission of fuel, an elevator casing within said firebox adjacent to said backhead and rigidly connected thereto, said casing being incommunication with said aperture, a sectional fuel transfer conduit having its forwardterminal section rigidly connected to said backhead in communlcation with said opening, and a helical screw in the rear portion of said conduit for transferring fuel along said rear portion and forcing the samethrough said forward sec tion and said aperture into saidv casing.

4. A locomotivehaving a firebox, the backhead of which is chambered and is apertured adjacent its bottom for the admission of fuel, an elevator casing within the firebox attached to the backhead and communicatingwith the aperture therein, a screw elevator in the'casing, means for driving the screw, and a jointed conveyorconduithaving its forward terminal portion rigidly connected to said backhead and'in axial alinement with the aperture therein for conducting fuel from a source of supply to the aperture in the backhead.v

5. Incombination, a locomotive having a firebox and a backhead provided with a mud ring, the backhead having a fuel admission aperture thereinimmediatelyabove said mud a tures.

NATHAN M. LOWER. ELAROHER TURNER. 

